Method of playing a game

ABSTRACT

A game in which a plurality of players is presented with an action photograph that has a moving object missing. Each player selects a location on the image where she believes the missing object to be. After all players have made their selections, an expert in the subject of the photograph selects what he believes is the true location of the missing object and the player closest to the true location wins.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not Applicable

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

REFERENCE TO A SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING COMPACT DISK APPENDIX

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to games, more particularly, to on-line contests of skill.

2. Description of the Related Art

There are many games available for pitting one's intellectual skill against others. For those people that are interested in sports, these games come in various forms, such as trivia contests, mock drafts, and fantasy leagues. Given the popularity of these games, there is always room for more and different games.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a game that uses a player's skill to compete against others for prizes.

Another object is to provide a game that is easy to learn.

A further object is to provide a game that can be played quickly.

The present invention is a game in which a player is presented with an action image that has a moving object missing, for example, a photograph of a baseball player hitting a baseball with the ball missing. The player selects a location on the image where she believes the missing object to be. After all players have made their selections, an expert in the subject of the image selects what he believes is the true location of the missing object and the player closest to the true location wins.

Typically, the game is implemented on an Internet Web site and the player must log in prior to playing. Optionally, before the player can complete a game, the player must acquire a ticket, which is any indication that a player is entitled to make a selection of the missing object's location.

The player is presented with an image with an expected object missing. Preferably, the image is a photographic snapshot of a person in an action sequence. The image is divided into elements, preferably in a rectangular array. There is no particular minimum number of elements, the minimum number being determined by several factors, including the number of players and the odds of more than one player selecting the same location.

The player studies the image and, using her best judgment, selects the center of where she believes the missing object is located. Each player's location is kept secret and is not revealed to other players.

The length of the game is determined by limiting either the number of tickets or the time the game is open for play. Once the game is closed, the true location of the missing object is determined by an independent expert. Then all player locations are compared to the true location and the closest player wins.

Other objects of the present invention will become apparent in light of the following drawings and detailed description of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a fuller understanding of the nature and object of the present invention, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is an example of an action image for use with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is the image of FIG. 1 with the missing object shown in phantom;

FIG. 3 is the image of FIG. 1 superimposed with a gross example of an array of elements; and

FIG. 4 is a magnified view of a portion of the image of FIG. 2 showing the relevant parameters for calculating the distance between the true location and the player location.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is a game in which a person uses her skill and judgment to predict the location of a missing object in an image. In short, a player is presented with an action image that has a moving object missing. Image examples include a person hitting a tennis ball with the ball missing, a person kicking a football or soccer ball with the ball missing, a person hitting a volleyball with the ball missing, etc. The player selects a location on the image where she believes the missing object to be. After all players have made their selections, an expert in the subject of the image selects what he believes is the true location of the missing object and the player closest to the true location wins.

For exemplary purposes, the present specification describes the game as implemented on an Internet Web site. The present invention contemplates, however, that the game may be implemented on other media, such as a standalone computer, a private network, and a hand-held device. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list, but merely examples of other media.

Once a player enters the Web site, typically by a Web browser, she is directed to the game. Optionally, if the Web site has more than one game running simultaneously, the player is given the choice of which game to play.

In general and as is typical with many Web sites, before a person can complete play of the game, she must log in. Logging in can occur at any time prior to completion of play. For example, the player can log in upon entering the Web site or the Web site can request that that player log in prior to entering the player's selection in a game. If the person does not have a username and password, she must sign up. The process of signing up generally includes the player selecting a username and password, and inputting contact information, such address, telephone number, and email address. If playing the game requires a monetary payment by the player, the method of payment, such as credit card or bank account information, is requested. Other requested information may include the person's age if there is a minimum age required to play. Once a person is enrolled with a username and password, reentering the Web site is merely a matter of logging in by entering her username and password.

Optionally, before the player can complete a selection, that is, before a selection that the player makes can be considered as a valid selection, she must acquire a ticket. Optionally, the player is permitted to acquire more than one ticket. A “ticket” is used in the present specification to mean any indication that entitles a player to make one selection of the missing object location. A ticket can be acquired in various ways. The most common is that the player, after logging in, pays for a ticket herself using, for example, a credit card or debit card. Other methods include receiving a ticket from someone else in the form of a gift certificate or coupon. Typically, the certificate or coupon includes a code that is recognized by the game Web site.

After the player has entered a game, she is presented with an image 10 where an object 12 that is expected to be in the image 10 is missing. Preferably, the image 10 is a photographic snapshot of a person in an action sequence and the missing expected object 12 is a quickly moving item. One example is a baseball player hitting a baseball with the baseball missing. FIG. 1 shows a baseball image as seen by the player and FIG. 2 shows the location of the baseball in the image. Other examples include a football player kicking a football with the ball missing, a tennis player serving a tennis ball with the ball missing, a volleyball player hitting a volleyball with the ball missing, a golfer hitting a golf ball with the ball missing, etc. Typically, the image will have a sports theme, but the present invention contemplates any action subject.

The present invention does not require any particular method of producing the image 10 presented. In one implementation, the image 10 is a posed photograph, that is, the photograph is staged without the missing object 12 ever having existed. In another implementation, the image 10 is a true action shot with the missing object 12 later removed by electronic means.

As shown in FIG. 3, the image 10 is divided into logical components called elements 14, any of which is selectable by the player. Elements 14 are not to be confused with pixels. An element 14 is a logical component of an image 10 and is the smallest location that can be selected by the player. A pixel is the smallest physical component of the image 10 and is typically determined by the medium upon which the image 10 is displayed. An element 14 may be composed of more than one pixel. For example, an image displayed on a 640×480 pixel computer screen may have 160×120 elements where each element is comprised of four pixels.

The present invention does not consider that there is any particular minimum number of elements 14 for an image 10. The minimum number will be determined by several factors, including the number of players and the odds of more than one player selecting the same location. The more elements 14 there are in an image 10, the smaller the elements 14 are, and the less chance there is that more than one person will select the same location.

Optionally, only a portion of the image 10 is comprised of elements 14. Generally, there will be areas of the image 10 where the missing object 12 logically cannot be. For example, in an image of a baseball player swinging at a baseball, the is highly unlikely that the baseball will actually be on top of the umpire's head. So to reduce the number of elements 14, it may be desirable to limit the elements 14 to only portions of the image 10 where the missing object 12 can logically be.

As shown in FIG. 3, preferably, the elements 14 are arranged in a rectangular array and each element 14 is individually identifiable. A preferred identification is by Cartesian coordinates, where each element 14 is identified by a coordinate pair (E_(x),E_(y)). The element in one corner of the image is designate as (0,0). The first coordinate value for any element is the horizontal, or x-axis, distance from element (0,0) and the second coordinate value is the vertical, or y-axis, distance from element (0,0). In the 160×120-element image, the element in the opposite corner of the image from element (0,0) is (159,119) and the four center elements are (79,59), (80,59), (79,60), and (80,60). Using coordinates of this form is merely one method of identifying elements, and any other method that uniquely identifies each element 14 can be used.

The player plays the game by studying the image 10 to determine the location of the missing object 12, and then selecting the element 14 that is located at the center of the missing object 12. The element 14 selected by the player is the player location 18 and is identified as element (P_(x),P_(y)) .The manner of selecting the player location 18 depends on the medium of play. For example, if the image 10 is displayed on a computer screen, selection can be made by moving a cursor to the appropriate element 14 by mouse and clicking the mouse button. Alternatively, the cursor can be moved by using the arrow keys and the enter key. Optionally, the cursor changes its appearance when it is over the image 10 to facilitate element selection, for example, into crosshairs or a small concentric circles.

Since the game is one of skill, it is expected that each player will use her best judgment to determine the location of the missing object 12. To this end, the game does not reveal each player's location selection 18 to subsequent players, that is, each player's location selection 18 is kept secret.

The length of the game is determined by limiting either the number of tickets or the time the game is open for play. If the number of tickets is limited, the number available is typically based on the cost of the ticket and the size of the prize. For example, if each ticket is $10 and the prize is $10,000, a limit of 1400 available tickets may be set. The number of available tickets should provide enough revenue to cover the cost of the prize and a comfortable profit. In the example, of the $14,000 in revenue, $10,000 goes to the prize and expenses and profit are taken from the remaining $4,000.

Alternatively, the game may be limited by time. In other words, the game will permit any number of selections within a preset period of time. The prize can be a fixed amount set prior to the start of the game, or can be a percentage of the revenue from the game. If the prize amount is set prior to the start of the game, the game time period should be set to permit enough selections to cover any prizes and an adequate profit. An adequate time period may be determined from historically data. If the prize is a percentage of the revenue, the time period should be set to ensure an adequate prize amount and profit.

Once the ticket limit or time limit has been reached, the game is closed. In one embodiment, the true location 20 for the missing object 12, identified as element (T_(x),T_(y)), is then determined by an independent expert. Typically, the expert uses one of the same location selection mechanisms available to the players. The criteria for determining who qualifies as an expert will vary depending upon the image subject. For ball games, for example, it could be a game official (referee or umpire) or a game photographer.

Alternatively, if the image 10 was a true image with the missing object 12 later removed, the original image can be used to determine the true location 20.

The true location 20 is the location against which all player locations 18 are compared to determine the winning player. The winning player is the player that selects the location closest to the true location 20. If the preferred format of the image 10 is used, that of a rectangular array of elements 14, the distance D between a player location 18 and the true location 20 can be calculated as the hypotenuse of a right triangle or D=√((T_(x)−P_(x))²+(T_(y)−P_(y))²), as shown in FIG. 4.

The prize is awarded to the winning player. The present invention contemplates that there can be more than one winner, that is, two or more players selected locations that are the same distance from the true location 20 and that are closer than any other selections. In one embodiment, if there is a tie, the prize is split evenly among all of the winners. If the prize is not money, for example, a car, the cash value of the prize is split evenly among the winners. Alternatively, the game may include a tie-breaker so that only one player is the winner. Any method of breaking a tie can be employed. In one example, all selections are time-stamped and the first correct selection is the winner. In another example, a tie breaker game is held with only tied players participating. In another example, the winning is randomly selected from the tied players.

Winnings can be awarded in any way known in the art. The winnings can be credited to a bank account, sent by check, awarded in cash, etc.

Thus it has been shown and described a game which satisfies the objects set forth above.

Since certain changes may be made in the present disclosure without departing from the scope of the present invention, it is intended that all matter described in the foregoing specification and shown in the accompanying drawings be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. 

1. A method of playing a game by a plurality of players comprising the steps of: (a) displaying an image without an expected object, said expected object having a true location; (b) permitting each of said players to select a respective player location on said displayed image, said respective player location being where said player believes said true location to be; (c) determining said true location; (d) determining the distance of each of said player locations from said true location; (e) determining a winning player location as said player location that is closest to said true location; and (f) determining a winning player as said player that selected said winning player location.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein said image is a photographic snapshot of an action sequence and said expected object is in motion in said sequence.
 3. The method of claim 1 wherein said image is composed of a plurality of elements and said player selects one of said elements as said player location.
 4. The method of claim 3 wherein said elements are arranged in a rectangular array.
 5. The method of claim 1 wherein said true location is determined by an expert.
 6. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of requiring said player to acquire a ticket before said distance from said corresponding player location to said true location is determined.
 7. The method of claim 6 wherein said player is permitted to acquire more than one ticket.
 8. The method of claim 6 wherein only a predetermined number of tickets are available for said game.
 9. The method of claim 1 wherein only said player can view said respective player location.
 10. A method of playing a game by a plurality of players comprising the steps of: (a) displaying a photographic snapshot of an action sequence without an expected object, said expected object being in motion in said sequence and having a true location; (b) requiring each of said players to acquire a ticket; (c) permitting each of said players to select a respective player location on said displayed image, said respective player location being where said player believes said true location to be; (d) an expert determining said true location; (e) determining the distance of each of said player locations from said true location; (f) determining a winning player location as said player location that is closest to said true location; and (g) determining a winning player as said player that selected said winning player location.
 11. The method of claim 10 wherein said image is composed of a plurality of elements and said player selects one of said elements as said player location.
 12. The method of claim 11 wherein said elements are arranged in a rectangular array.
 13. The method of claim 10 wherein said player is permitted to acquire more than one ticket.
 14. The method of claim 10 wherein only a predetermined number of tickets are available for said game.
 15. The method of claim 10 wherein only said player can view said respective player location. 